Kokonomo

Terry Melcher, a surf song stylist and one of the worst landlords in history, died at the age of 62. The son of Doris Day, Melcher had a hit as a member of the Rip Chords with Hey Little Cobra, and later performed on the Beach Boys hit album Pet Sounds. As a producer, he turned the little-known folk rock band The Byrds into stars with his work on Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn. He also worked with Paul Revere and the Raiders, Gram Parsons, the Mamas and the Papas and Ry Cooder, but he shot down an aspiring talent to disastrous results. Charles Manson had sought a record contract but was denied. Police later speculated that the Manson family murders of Sharon Tate and her guests at the house she had rented from Melcher were revenge killings gone wrong. Melcher produced his own house of horrors with his participation in the Beach Boys comeback Kokomo in the 1980s.